Category: Lacey’s Food Bowl

It was not my intention to be writing this quick and easy chickpea burgers recipe. Had I not been in a panic this weekend with the realisation that I was off to a barbeque on Saturday and had forgotten I needed a vegan option, this recipe would not exist.

How I Created my Quick and Easy Chickpea Burgers

It was my friends birthday and we were throwing her a surprise barbeque. It had been planned for weeks, but as I had only figured out my budget for the month a day prior, I was unable to buy anything. However, my lack of time to prepare and funds to shop seemed to have paid off.

I grabbed anything I could from my cupboards that could be made into a suitable barbeque meal and there it was. Quick and Easy Chickpea Burgers. I honestly had no idea how these were going to taste. I made the foolish mistake of blending a portion, which essentially just made falafel. However, I amended it with the rest of the batch and created some squishy patties that when grilled or fried (I wasn’t on cook duty) wowed other guests.

So, without further ado, here is my recipe for quick and easy chickpea burgers.

Quick and Easy Chickpea Burgers (Makes 6)

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas (drained – deshelling is optional)

1 can of butter beans (drained)

1 cup of sweetcorn

1 tbsp cajun spice

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp sriracha

1 squirt BBQ sauce

1/2 cup of any flour

Method

This is really simple… Are you ready?

Throw everything into a bowl and mash together. Shape into patties. Grill or Fry on a medium heat until golden brown on the outside. Serve on a bun or with a salad. Now, tuck in!

This weekend I have been very busy, but I found a super easy meal prep for my lunches this week. Jambalaya! I’ve never made jambalaya before, let alone a vegan version, but I needed something quick and easy, and I had a recipe card from some supermarket and thought I’d see if I could do it. I haven’t followed the recipe completely, I’ve made a cheeky cheat version with similar ingredients, but it came out so good!

Being frugal is easy when you enjoy one pot wonders. Larry and I are big fans of our slow cooker, and tend to make most dinners that way. Though we both tend to follow recipes, I’m also rather drawn towards making it up as I go along, and this recipe is one of them.

We love Mexican food, but sometimes we can get a little bit bored of chilli and fajitas (okay maybe not fajitas, they are the best). I created this recipe when I was about to write one down from a vegan cookbook, but the list of ingredients was insane, and I got bored. Instead I just followed the idea behind the recipe to come up with this.

I wanted to create something filling, full of flavour and ideal for the weather we have been facing recently (snow in March, really?). All ingredients were bought at Lidl, totalling £5.34, and the entire thing serves eight people. That makes each portion just under 67p!

I also put the recipe in on MyFitnessPal. Each serving is around 260kcal, has 45g of carbs, 1.4g fat and 7.2g protein. Is it too bold to say I think I accidentally created the healthiest comfort food ever?

Though I made the hotpot in a slow cooker, you could use a big pan on a high heat. It will take a couple of hours to cook, so remember to stir regularly.

Ingredients

3 tins chopped tomatoes

2 packets fajita seasoning mix

2 tins kidney beans

2 large sweet potatoes, chopped

4 medium potatoes, chopped

2 peppers, chopped (or torn with your hands like I do)

1 tsp basil

A pinch of salt

500ml water

Though it’s basically a “throw it in” method, I would always suggest chopping the potatoes an peppers after you have thrown in the other ingredients as it gives the seasonings time to sink into the tomatoes and water.

Did you give it a try? Let me know how it goes and tweet me/tag me in your photos!

LaceyFitspo xx

This is actually a recipe which I ended up changing almost completely from Simply Nigella. Hers was a butternut squash and halloumi burger, but I don’t really like butternut squash. Anyway, this is my own spin!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1-2 sweet potatoes, depending on size and mouths to feed

Sainsbury’s Greek style vegan cheese

wholemeal pitta bread

light mayo

pesto

spinach

tomatoes

salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200*C and wash the sweet potato(es)

Cut the potato into slices about 1.5cm each, then lay on a baking tray

Guksu can be made in many different ways, but as I only work with basic ingredients, this is more of an inspiration than a proper guksu recipe. Non the less, it’s a perfect winter warmer and is super easy to make!

Heat the noodles in a pan with hot water. Whilst doing so, slowly heat a large pan with water and add the Korean seasoning, and the noodle flavour packets. Then add the spring onions, frozen veg and mushrooms. Keep stirring every now and then to allow the flavours to mix.

When the noodles are ready, strain the water and add noodles to broth. For the rest of the nori, crush and serve a spoonful with each portion. Add sriracha/chilli sauce.

I am too lazy for breakfast in the morning and I know I’m not the only one. it’s so easy to forget to eat, but it’s the most important meal of the day! So I decided to throw together this super easy breakfast bar recipe which is not only vegan and healthy, but it’s absolutely delicious!

I know you can find recipes like this anywhere. In fact, chances are you don’t need a recipe to come up with something like this, but I thought it would be fun to write up what I did to make sure I get a healthy start to the day. This is a no bake recipe, only takes around 10 minutes to make and you get enough portions to grab throughout the week.

I don’t know about you guys, but I only ever get the urge to cook in the afternoon or late evening, so this was a good opportunity to prep it while I could be bothered and I know I won’t have to think about making it again for at least another week. I did end up making twice the amount I needed, but that’s because I was halfway through the first batch when I figured out ways to improve it. So off I went to grab a couple more ingredients, and here’s the final outcome.

What I love about these is that they’re perfect for chocaholics, but the chocolate is so well mixed in that you get enough of the taste without consuming more than you should, and the dried cranberries surprise you with a mouth watering, fruity burst. I found that adding banana reduced the crunch factor, which, if you’re anything like me, you will find is perfect for a morning bite. So, let’s get on with the recipe.

Ingredients

150g special flakes/bran flakes/corn flakes/whatever

75g desiccated coconut

200g dark chocolate

100g dried cranberries

1 ripe banana

Let’s do this!

The first thing you need is your breakfast flakes. I went for special flakes, but anything that’s healthy will do. Pour them into a bowl and use something to crush them into smaller pieces. If you have a pestle and mortar then use that. I don’t. I used a bottle of one kcal spray… A water bottle might work too actually.

Once you have crushed them to a small enough size, you can add the coconut and cranberries and mix together. Then mash the banana until it’s as smooth as can be and mix into the bowl.

Then it’s time to melt the chocolate. Break into small pieces (unless you have used chocolate chips) and throw it into a mixing bowl. The quickest way to melt them is to obviously microwave them. If you’re worried about the chocolate burning, make sure you leave a gap in the middle as that’s the hottest point. Microwave for about a minute, remove from the microwave and stir. Any lumps should melt as you stir it.

Once this is done you can mix the dry ingredients into the chocolate. Make sure you mix it to get an even coverage. Once you have your mix ready, it’s time to place into moulds. Though you can use cupcake cases, you will get smaller portions and will be wasting paper, so I suggest a silicone mould. Mine is heart shaped, but you can use a deep muffin tray or even a bar shaped mould if you can find one. Leave in the fridge to solidify.

And there you have it, chocolatey goodness at breakfast time with no guilt! Let me know how yours turn out… Maybe you switched yours up?

I looooooove chilli! It’s my go to meal when I’m never sure of what to make, but I always make it differently depending on what I have in my kitchen. This isn’t my first chilli recipe, as I have written a couple back on my Tumblr, but with only six ingredients, I think this is my easiest recipe yet.

The reason why I decided to share this recipe with you guys before is because sometimes a recipe can be so simple, you don’t always think to make it that way. When my dad makes a chilli, and he makes a mean one, he will spend a good couple of hours in the kitchen with a counter full of ingredients! I just don’t have time for that. I need something I can throw in and freeze for later if needed.

This wasn’t a planned recipe. I was simply walking around my kitchen and I just knew that I needed to get through what I had before I do another shop. I mean, I’m broke after all! So I had a look around and threw everything in. The reason why this is a cheating meal is because, as done before, I grabbed a flavour packet to give it that chilli boost! Naughty? Maybe. Attractive? Not quite, hence the lack of photos. Tasty? Of course!

So, let’s get started with the recipe!

serves 4

ingredients

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 tins kidney beans

1 tin sweetcorn

1 packet fajita seasoning

300g brown rice (or 4x recommended serving for 1 person)

vegan cheese

method

either place a large pan on a low/medium heat, or in a slow cooker on high and throw in the tomatoes, kidney beans and sweetcorn. Stir and leave for 20 minutes.

return to the pot and add he seasoning. Stir and leave again for a further 20. When you return, this is the time to start boiling the rice!

Once the rice is boiled, the chilli should also be done. Place in a bowl and crumble the cheese on top.

Not long ago I was sent a sauce packet to review from Capsicana. I did create a meal and take photos, but as I’ve been away, I haven’t had the chance to write anything up yet. Well, now is the time! My memory may be a little bit hazy, so I’m mostly going to talk about how I cooked the food.

The packet does have a recipe on the back to help you create a meal, but as I’m vegan and the recipe was chicken, I decided to just do my own thing. The day I decided to get cooking with the sauce, I had just been to Levenshulme Market with ElsaEats and I had bought some fresh fruit and veg, so I decided to use them within the mix. So I had tomatoes in different colours and sizes, mixed mushrooms and spinach. I later decided to add sweetcorn last minute.

So, I chopped everything that needed chopping, and threw it all into a wok with coconut oil. I then boiled some brown rice. after a few minutes of cooking the vegetables, I added the sauce. and mixed.

The rice finished cooking around the same time as the veg and sauce, so in total it took about twenty minutes to make. Finally I seasoned the final product with piri piri rub.

The verdict? The sauce is really nice, but if I’m honest, it’s nothing special. The fact that it’s sold at Waitrose is enough to tell me I probably wouldn’t buy it myself, but if you ever fancy a throw in meal and you’re nearby, you may as well grab yourself a pack.

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About me

Health comes in many forms, whether it be food, exercise, mental well being, or even financial health! In a generation where we strive for happiness over money, I want to make every day as happy and healthy as possible. Wanna join me?